that happened at the virginia tech massacre and the huge earthquake in china. but it's not just breaking news. there are 233 million internet users in the united states according to nielsen research, and the number is growing every day. easy-to-use software is helping citizen journalists tell their stories, and professionals are using citizen sources more and more. >> we treat them as reliable sources of information, but, like we would with the police source, the courthouse source, and the capitol hill source, we verify that. >> ...these images literally streaming into us here at cnn. >> as traditional news media grapple with sinking budgets and shrinking newsrooms, can citizen journalism help fill the void? what role should citizen journalists play? that's our topic today on "the future of news." >> a government without a tough and vibrant media of all sorts is not an option for the united states of america. >> more eyes, more ears, more voices out there, and a more sophisticated audience as well, because it's the audience that's gonna keep us all honest. >> w